Wet Warriors

We have been redeemed by Christ, and He has given His life so that we might walk in His new life. By His grace, even though we did not deserve, it God, through His great love, chose to give of Himself. Ephesians chapter 4 states:
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.

We enter in to a relationship with Christ through laying down our lives, accepting Jesus as the Lord and Savior of our lives, and experience being born again by His Spirit.  His Word is authoritative, instructive, accurate, and utterly dependable.  He calls us to humble ourselves, confess his Lordship, believe on Him and walk in the salvation He has provided.  He invites all to come to Him and to have a changed heart and a surrendered life. 

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In Romans 6, we can read about the spiritual reality of what Christ has done in our hearts. We see these words:
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

I love the optics here - a group of warriors, serving their country, who recognize that they are called and empowered to serve in an even higher role, for a higher country, a heavenly one. 

The scene is an Army base in California.  According to a Faithwire story: "When seven soldiers said they wanted to get baptized, the military chaplains at Fort Irwin in California made it happen. News of the spontaneous baptism was first shared in a Facebook post...by the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division."

The division stated in that post, which was embedded in the Faithwire story: "With no chapel or equipment to facilitate, our chaplains came together and created a makeshift tub at the National Training Center/Fort Irwin and got the job done,” adding, “A fine example of Lancers being experts at their chosen field craft!”

The day the story was published, on August 31, the day after the post, the post "had been shared more than 30,000 times, received nearly 8,000 reactions, and had almost 1,000 comments." As of last Friday, the post had been shared over 106,000 times, with over 4,000 comments. Faithwire included several comments including this one: “This is absolutely amazing!” ... “Makes my heart happy! Thank you, chaplains, what a blessing! Welcome to the family of God! Thank you for our troops! God bless each and every one of you! I pray God’s protection around you all!”

Two weeks later, Southern Baptists across the nation were encouraged to "Fill the Tank," the theme for the annual Baptism Sunday.  Baptist Press reported:

On that day, not only are churches encouraged to perform and celebrate baptisms, but also to provide the opportunity for others wanting to make a decision for Christ and be baptized.

In North Carolina alone, over 600 churches had registered to participate, according to the story, which quotes Tommy Green, executive director-treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention, who said, "It is exciting to hear reports and see the pictures on social media of Florida Baptist churches participating in baptisms this past Sunday...I am thankful for the evangelistic witness of our churches for Christ. I rejoice that every week that baptismal waters are stirred in Florida Baptist churches.”

Again, we can see that baptism is a representation of what Christ has done.  And, it is worth noting that even Jesus, though John the Baptist expressed his disagreement, asked John to baptize him. The Bible teaches that we have been baptized into Christ - our sins have been cleansed and we have been raised up in Him. We recognize that old things have passed away, new things have come. So, the act of water baptism is an expression of that new life.  

I like the optics of those warriors, who are dedicated to serving their country, showing their love for Christ and their humility and obedience to Him. We can consider how, once we have been born again, baptized into Christ, that we are warriors for the Lord, active in spiritual warfare for God's glory.  Each of us has been equipped and empowered to serve God, and we can do so with great enthusiasm, as people who have been called into the Lord's service.